Okkervil River Are Too Big For This

Lee's Palace

Toronto, ON

on Sep 21 2007

Noah Love (CHARTattack)

09/24/2007 3:00pm

For reasons unrelated to the band, I wasn't looking forward to Okkervil River's performance on Friday night. I had just come from seeing the Beastie Boys at the Air Canada Centre, where I had been standing on a concrete floor for the better part of two hours. While the floor of Lee's Palace is much more accommodating, I still didn't feel like I was going to make it through another 90 to 100 minutes of music, especially given that it was starting at midnight. But holy shit, am I ever glad I didn't buckle under the weight of my upper half. Outside of Wolf Parade and Deerhunter, Okkervil River are the THE indie band you have to see in concert.

Up until this show, I didn't really get The Stage Names. But there are some albums that simply need a key to be unlocked and for Okkervil's new LP, it's their flawless live performance. Don't get me wrong, I think the first half of the record is pretty much great. It's the second half that lags well behind. In the live setting, however, those songs take on new dimensions. You can see and more clearly hear the effort that tireless frontman Will Sheff puts into each one and, with tracks such as the lower key "A Girl In A Port" and the suddenly epic album closer "John Allyn Smith Sails," it makes a huge difference.

Let me backtrack, because I don't really feel like I'm doing the band the justice they deserve. This is how great Okkervil were: They could have left the stage after four songs and I don't think anyone would have felt they didn't get their money's worth. "Lady Liberty" and "No Key, No Plan" brought the energy level to such a blinding high that I actually wouldn't have minded if the band had stormed off after "The Latest Toughs." Of course they didn't, which was more than acceptable.

Hmm. This isn't working. I can do better. OK, how about this: This performance reminded me of Arcade Fire's early Toronto shows, when you could literally feel each successive song lift everyone in the room to another level. Every time I saw The Arcade Fire in small venues, all I could ever think (other than "This is amazing") was that the band were too big for the confines of the space. Okkervil are no different. Black Sheep Boy's "For Real" and "So Come Back, I Am Waiting" literally begged for more room as they erupted through Lee's crackling speakers.

The group, especially keyboardist and back-up singer Jonathan Meiburg, are so tight and focused that it's a wonder they're not at the next level already. This might be because — and I've only read interweb postings that confirm it — Okkervil weren't as sure a thing in performance before now. It's so hard to believe seeing them now, but it's somewhat understandable given that this show was at Lee's and not, say, Massey Hall, where they could easily be playing in about two years. When the end of the year comes around, the few critics who were lucky enough to get in are going to have this one plastered all over the top of their best shows of the year lists.

Here is the set list:
"Plus Ones"
"Lady Liberty"
"No Key, No Plan"
"The Latest Toughs"
"A Girl In Port"
"Song Of Our So-Called Friend"
"A Hand to Take Hold Of The Scene"
"Unless It's Kicks"
"Black"
"So Come Back, I Am Waiting"
"Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe"
"For Real"
"John Allyn Smith Sails"
"The President's Dead"
"Okkervil River Song"
"You Can't Hold The Hand Of A Rock And Roll Man"
"Westfall